1. Field
One or more exemplary embodiments relate to a battery pack and a charge-controlling system of an electric vehicle including the same, and more particularly, to a battery pack and an overcharge protection system including the same that is configured to protect a battery from overcharging by forming a new discharge path if an abnormal state of the battery occurs due to overcharge.
2. Description of the Related Art
Much research has been conducted into rechargeable secondary batteries in association with the development of portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones, laptop computers, camcorders, or personal digital assistants (PDAs). Particularly, various kinds of secondary batteries, such as nickel-cadmium batteries, lead storage batteries, nickel-hydride batteries, lithium-ion batteries, lithium-polymer batteries, metal lithium batteries, or zinc-air batteries, have been developed. Such secondary batteries are generally manufactured in the form of cells, and then the cells are combined with charge/discharge circuits to form battery packs. Thereafter, the battery packs can be charged or discharged by connecting external terminals of the battery packs to external power sources or loads.
The battery packs may be installed in various devices requiring electrical energy, and generally include components to protect the battery packs from abnormal states, such as a state of overcharge or a state of over-discharge. Furthermore, voltages and currents of the battery cells may be monitored to protect the battery packs from the abnormal states. It may be useful to have a reference value that is used to distinguish an abnormal state from a normal state, and to determine whether the battery packs are in an abnormal state. However, it may be difficult to efficiently and securely use the battery packs in various environments if only one reference value is set.